The Reunion
by rubyprincess57
Summary: Sokka wants to propose to Suki, so he invites the Gaang to come and visit. Zutara, Sukka, and some Taang. PLEASE READ!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- Hey everybody! This is a new story (duh) and I really hope you guys will read it and review it! Please and thank you. P.s. I don't know about you guys, but I'm a Zutara Shipper! Soo this story will be based around their growing relationship. PLus, There'll be some Taang and Sukka =D **

**Now, on with the story!**

The Reunion

Chapter 1

They were fighting yet again.

About what, he didn't even remember.

t was probably very, very stupid. He should really just stop right there and apologize to his girlfriend. But it was Zuko, and apologies weren't exactly his thing. Plus, he was the Fire Lord, ruler of all the Four Nations! Why should he back down just to let Mai think she had him wrapped around her bony fingers? If she even cared about that...Mai didn't show any emotion.

Unless, of course, it was anger.

And that anger was somehow _always _directed at Zuko. Right now, he was just tuning out his hot-headed girlfriend , only hearing a profanity every now and then.

"…and you aren't even listening to me right now! Why am I not surprised? If it has nothing to do with this stupid country's well-being, then it doesn't matter to you at all!"

Zuko sighed, exhausted from a long day of meeting with the generals.

"And I suppose you _do _care, Mai? You never cared about anything, or anyone, aside from yourself! You're always in your own gloomy little shell, showing no emotion! Well it's pissing me off! And I don't even remember _why _you're mad at me, but I guess you're too stubborn to let it go, aren't you?"

For once in her life, Mai felt her knees go weak. "It's my birthday, Zuko. I thought you of all people would remember that! I mean, you've been my boyfriend for overl year now! I-I can't believe you!" She felt her eyes stinging, but she wouldn't cry. She hadn't cried for years now, and she wouldn't let this fool be her reason.

"Mai…I'm sorry..." He tried to embrace her, but she slapped his arm.

"No, I'm sorry you had to waste your time with someone you obviously don't care for. Goodbye, Zuko, I'm leaving."

He didn't argue; he didn't even move as she left. They were now officially broken up, yet he didn't even seem to care. Because in his mind, Zuko knew that it always felt wrong when he and Mai were together, awkward even.

He heard footsteps, and quickly glanced at himself to make sure he was decent. "Who's there?"

"Hello, Nephew, it's just me," Iroh said, opening a cupboard to get (what else?) a tea-pot.

"Uncle, what are you doing here?" The Fire Lord questioned as he hugged his Uncle. Not that he objected to the retired General being here, but he had his tea shop to maintain in Ba Sing Se.

"Prince Zuko, if you didn't want me you could've made it a little subtler. Besides, I just wanted to come check on my favorite nephew." Zuko smiled; he liked how his Uncle still called him Prince Zuko, or just Zuko. It made him feel normal, it lifted the weight of the Nations off his shoulders.

"No, of course I didn't mean it like that Uncle. You just caught me at a bad time."

Iroh poured some water in the tea pot, and started to boil it with his hands, adding a mixture of leaves. "Well, young Nephew, I believe there is no such thing as bad time for some tea. Now, I've made this interesting flavor of tea that I want you to try out! Why don't you tell me what's been bothering you while we sit down?"

Zuko knew that his Uncle was right, and always was right, so he made no objection and took 2 cups out, sitting in a chair as Iroh poured the tea.

"Now, where is your lovely girlfriend? Maybe even soon-to-be wife?" Iroh winked. He chuckled at his little joke, until he saw Zuko's shoulders slump.

"Well that's the thing. We just broke up. I forgot her birthday," here Zuko ignored his Uncle's tsk-ing, "and she blew up! I'm tired of all our fights! I'm almost happy we're over, so don't give me that look, Uncle!"

"Zuko, it was wrong to break that girl's heart when she obviously loved you…"

"But she didn't-"

"…for at least _some _time. If this makes you happy, so be it. Just apologize to Mai after you've cooled off, and tell her how you feel and that you aren't interested in this relationship anymore." The old man took another sip of his tea, and smoothed his long beard in thought. "You know Prince Zuko, sorry, _Fire Lord _Zuko, I think you need a vacation from this Kingdom. I know those old generals can bore me to death any day. Maybe you should see the Avatar and the others; it's been a few months now."

Zuko drank his tea, nodding. He did miss everybody from the gAang a lot. He missed Toph's attitude, Aang's playful-ness, Sokka's lame jokes, and Katara's overprotective-ness. Sure, he could see them. The other part though, talking to Mai? That would be difficult, to say the least.

He could leave a note at her door?

No, Mai hated it when a man acted cowardly. He would talk to her later tonight.

Iroh finished his drink and began to get up. Zuko also stood, gulping down the last drops in the cup. He had to admit, it was almost the best tea he'd tasted.

"Hey, Uncle, what's in this? It tastes very good." He said awkwardly. He wasn't normally the type to intentionally give a compliment.

It seemed that Iroh though that too, because he almost dropped his cup in surprise. "Oh, thank you nephew. Actually, my secret is adding a little pinch of cinnamon; it does wonders!" He continued talking about how wonderful tea was, and how he should find who had invented this _marvelous _thing.

Zuko began exiting the room, when a guard ran into him. Ozai would've had this man's head chopped off.

But Zuko merely smiled and helped the man up. _He's about my age, no older than 16, _he thought. He laughed in his head; he had been crowned Fire Lord at the age of 16, the youngest Fire Lord ever. And, according to many villagers at his Seventeenth birthday, he was the best.

"S-s-sorry, Fire Lord! I have a letter for you, it's addressed from Kyoshi Island," the boy stammered out.

Kyoshi? It was probably from Sokka, since he had been living on the island with his girlfriend Suki ever since the war had ended.

"Thank you very much," Zuko replied to the boy, and took the letter. He walked normally to the door, but when he hit the hallway he sprinted up to his bedroom, anxious to see what was so important that _Sokka _would pick up a quill and some paper and make the effort to _write. _

_To Zuko,_

_Hey Mr. Fire Lord! How's your boring life at that palace with Mai?_

**Zuko ignored that sentence and skimmed through all of Sokka's "adventures" in Kyoshi Island…**

…_anyways, man, let me go straight to the point. You know me and Suki have been together for almost 2 years now, and I'm completely sure that I love her, and that I'll never find someone as special as she is. So I'm going to ask her to marry me. _

**Zuko's mouth dropped. **_**Sokka was going to marry Suki? What had happened to that immature, 15 year old warrior he'd last travelled with? Well, Sokka had just turned 17…but still, he'd thought Sokka would never grow up!**_

_And I know your asking yourself why I would want to settle down now, but really Zuko. I've grown up, I'm tired of looking at Suki and not knowing if we'll always be together. This way, we're tied to each other until we die. _

_I've sent letters to Katara at the Southern Water Tribe, Toph at her parents' house, and Aang at the Western Air Temple. _

_Hopefully you guys can come to Kyoshi Island in time for next week? _

_Please Please PLEASE come Zuko! I need a guy to help, Aang is too girly!_

_From Sokka._

_P.s. Suki doesn't know about the proposal (duh), she just thinks you guys are visiting. DON'T TELL HER. _

* * *

Zuko tucked the letter away in his robe and called for the maid, Rita, a nice, middle-aged woman that didn't groan and moan when he asked for assistance.

While she was packing his clothes and other belongings, he went to see his advisors to get a boat.

"I need one by the end of the day, General, I'm travelling to Kyoshi Island, and I must be there by next week," he said impatiently, for about the tenth time.

" My Lord, this is at such short notice…" he replied.

Zuko took out a few gold pieces and slipped it in the man's hand.

"…but, just for you, Fire Lord Zuko, we will get you the fastest boat by dinnertime!"

Zuko smirked; he loved the perks of being the Fire Lord.


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, thanks for the Story Alerts, Author Alerts, and REVIEWS :D glad you guys like it, and here you goo!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender, or any of its awesome characters.**

The Reunion

Chapter 2

I was sitting in my dad's ship with the rest of his men. They had left a few days ago to attend a meeting in Omashu with King Bumi, and I'd be getting dropped at Gaoling to travel the rest of the way with Toph.

_If only Aang didn't have to come…_ I started to think, and shook my head. No, if we hadn't met Aang, me and Sokka would still be stuck in the South Pole eating Whale Blubber. We wouldn't have met Suki, Zuko, Toph, or any of the others.

But it was still awkward to be with Aang. I didn't feel _sad _when I saw him, he was just so annoying! He followed me everywhere I went, and he wouldn't understand why he only felt like a brother to me. I thought back to when I had said no, it had been the day in Iroh's tea shop, after we had kissed…

_Aang was pulling me closer, and I realized what I was doing. Why was I kissing him? He's just a kid!_

"_No, let go Aang, I made a mistake," I pulled away._

"_But I love you, Katara." He tried starting the kiss again, so tight and abrupt. I pushed him, hard, and he would've fallen had he not air bended back up._

"Enough _Aang. You're only a brother to me, no more, and no less. I wasn't thinking clearly, now please LEAVE ME ALONE."_

I did admit I was sorry, and the last time we visited I did act normal. But he always had this abandoned expression in his eyes when he looked at me. Well, it'd been almost a year since we last saw Aang, maybe he moved on?

"I still wish I could come with you kids. I really want to see Sokka before he proposes…" My dad said, sitting beside me.

"Don't worry about us, Dad, and you'll see Sokka on the way back next week. And you'll get to hear the story of his soon-to-be mess up," I giggled, imagining Sokka proposing to Suki.

Dad laughed too. "Yeah, I really should have given him more pointers in those letters you sent him. He still hasn't learned from the Master." I rolled my eyes; Dad and Sokka were almost exactly the same. Good thing I took more from my mom's side.

"Look, Katara, we're almost at the dock to Gaoling. Let's start getting your things together now…"

"Already taken care of, Dad," I smirked. I'd looked at the map and seen the landmarks near Gaoling; I was prepared.

He tousled my hair playfully. "You're exactly like Kaya, that's a good thing. It would be terrible to have _both _my children become like my old self!" He laughed until he wheezed. Ugh, he was so embarrassing sometimes.

"Okay, dad, we're reaching now. I think I see Toph…" Yes, sure enough, Toph Bei Fong was standing right at the docks, waiting for me to come.

I smiled at how much Toph had grown, she was now 14 years old and she looked very pretty. She'd grown her hair long, and it hung down her back. I couldn't see much else, but I'd got her to crack her shell a little last time we met and she confessed that she had a crush on Aang. I crossed my fingers in hopes that he had moved on, for mine and Toph's sakes.

My dad helped me climb off the ship, and I hugged him good-bye.

"I'll see you soon, sweetheart, watch yourself," he said, kissing my head.

"Bye dad!" I said, watching him go back on the ship.

I ran over to my friend. "TOPH!" I screamed, crushing her into a hug.

"Ugh, careful Sweetness, you'll ruin my new clothes," she said plainly, but there was a smile on her lips. "But I did miss you too." She patted me on the back, and I let go of her.

Toph was about my height now, since I was so short, and I noticed she was wearing make-up. Who did her make-up if she was blind?

"Ooh, Toph's wearing make-up! Who did it, it looks pretty," I said.

"My mother, she NEVER let's me leave the house dressed like a 'peasant'," Toph air-quoted. "Now, where is that stupid driver?"

"Miss Bei Fong! Over here," a short, chubby man called, waving at her, forgetting that she was blind.

"He's over…"

"No need to tell me, I can hear his fat legs walking."

"Toph, don't be rude!"

"Hey, he was being rude to my blindness, I can be rude back! Besides, my family does pay him."

The man tried to help Toph up, and then, after getting waved away from her, he helped me to climb into the wagon. It was about a 10 minute drive to the Bei Fong estate, where I ate a small lunch (Toph really gave me no choice) and was swarmed over by servants.

"Do her hair, her make-up…" Toph began to list for them.

"Please, don't do anything. I just need somewhere to wash my clothes," I replied kindly. "Toph, stop talking," I added.

"Can do, Sweetness. And they can take your clothes, don't try anything else!" She replied. Sighing, I gave the women my dirty clothes that I'd wore for the trip, and changed into my other pair of clothes. I inhaled the smell of Gran Gran and our igloo, already missing the South Pole just a little bit.

"So, you think Snoozle's gonna mess up on the proposal?" Toph asked, sitting beside me on her big bed.

"No doubt about it! I hope we're all there when he does, so we can see what happens," I laughed.

"Yeah, me too. Although Sunshine would make this event gloomy," she sighed.

"Sunshine?"

"You know, Sparky's girlfriend."

"Oh right, Mai. She seems alright, just so dead."

"Both of them are soo gloomy, it makes it painful to watch. Or, um, feel, in my case. He needs someone a little perkier than him."

"I don't think any girl would be willing to put up with a stubborn 17 year old Fire Lord," I said, remembering the times when I had fights with Zuko.

"Katara, you had a crush on Zuko back then," Top said, smiling evilly.

"WHAAT? I did not!"

"Uh uh, I can tell when you're lying. Plus, I remember how fast your heartbeat used to go when you saw him."

"Ugh, fine Toph, I liked him. But I was 14, I turned 16 last month, and I'm more mature."

"Yeah yeah yeah."

I blushed, lucky that the girl was blind. "Okay, Toph, can we talk about something other than guys?"

Toph listened to Katara, and began asking questions about the South Pole and telling her about life in Gaoling. But Sugar Queen couldn't see what she was _thinking_…

Because Toph knew that _Zuko _had also liked Katara, since his heart practically screamed when someone said her name. And she knew that Katara was the only perky, stubborn girl that could handle Zuko (and his stubborn-ness).

She smiled a little as Katara blabbed on about how disgusting Whale Blubber was; she would get those two together, or just push them in the right direction.

This would be interesting.

**As always, review! And chapter 3 is already typed up and waiting to be posted, so I'll wait till I have 5 more reviews. That would really make my day :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow, I got those reviews! And many more Story/Author Alerts :D Thanks to: **Escapedslave99, ZutaraOwnzKataangSux69 **X2, **brianna dunlap, sincere, JazzedVanilla,** and **june pippinpobbleopsacopolis **(Damn thats a long name).**

**And to **ZutaraOwnzKataangSux69, **fine, just because of you I won't be a freak about reviews :P but I still love them!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender, or any of its awesome characters.**

The Reunion

Chapter 3

Katara and Toph woke up early the next day, and Katara felt more peaceful then she ever had after waking up. _It must have been the gigantic, fluffy beds the Bei Fongs own_, she thought. They ate a quick breakfast and packed up everything they would need for the journey to Kyoshi Island. For Toph, that was only another change of clothes and some gold pieces.

"Just in case," she said to Katara, who seemed confused.

As they were leaving the Bei Fong Estate, Toph was ambushed by her parents and squished by their hugs.

"Be careful, sweetheart! We'll miss you!" Her mother said to her, kissing her all over. Toph made a face, and wiped the lipstick off her pale cheeks.

"I'll be back in a week or two; don't start getting all emotional on me." Katara elbowed Toph, which did absolutely nothing to the strong earth-bender.

"Goodbye Mr. and Mrs. Bei Fong, and thank you for letting me stay here for the night," Katara said warmly. She waved and started walking out quickly, trying to catch the speed-walking Toph.

"Toph, why do you have to do that? Can't you see they love you?" She sighed.

"Well, I can certainly _hear_ them, if that's what you mean," she scoffed, "it gets irritating though, they always treat me like a mindless baby. Sometimes I wish I lived on my own."

"Never say that!" Katara snapped, before she could think of what she said. Toph sensed the change in her mood, and frowned.

"Sorry Katara, I forgot that was a bad subject, but I don't mean it! I'm only angry; I say things when I'm angry! You know me, you know I don't mean it," she said, in an almost pleading way. Katara had to smile at Toph's first attempt at an apology. She put an arm around her shoulder.

"Yeah, Toph, I do know you. And I'm glad I do. Now, 'don't get all emotional on me', our boat is about to leave!"

The two girls laughed and ran over to the boat waiting for them at the docks. As they drove through the gentle waves, Toph looked back with her un-seeing eyes and let a small tear escape.

She wouldn't admit it aloud, but she did miss her parents, a lot, and she hoped they'd never stop getting emotional over her. She liked having proof that they still loved her.

Zuko was awake, of course. He always rose with the sun.

He was practicing his fire-bending, which had improved greatly since his Coronation. He didn't tell anyone, especially Katara, but it still hurt his chest a little when he bended.

_Pain is what made me strong, it's made me who I am, _the Fire Lord thought sarcastically to himself.

Right now, he was bending nature. Rather, fire in the shape of nature. He made a glowing orange tree, a lake with turtle ducks, and flowers blooming at the edge of the lake. The last thing he bended was not something found in nature; it was a human.

Who it was, he didn't know yet. Then, a second human appeared out of the flames, smaller than the first. More details started to become visible to him, and he could see that the taller one had long hair, and was walking with the little one to sit by the lake.

It was when the taller fire-figure put its arm around the little one's shoulder did he catch a glimpse of its face.

Her face.

His mother. And the little figure was Zuko as a child, sitting by the lake and feeding the turtle-ducks with his mother. One of the only memories he had of her.

Surprised, he stopped bending, and the fire relaxed into a light coating of soot on the ship's deck.

Zuko's eyes popped open as he heard a loud knocking at his cabin door.

_It was a dream, just a dream._

"Fire Lord Zuko? I think you should come out and see this," the driver called from behind the door.

"Uh, yes, I'll be out in a minute," Zuko said, clearing his throat. He got out of his bed and pulled on a simple tunic and pants. He splashed some water on his face, hoping to get rid of his sleepiness, and walked out onto the ship's deck.

What he didn't expect to see was a giant flying bison lying on its back, snoring deeply. How could he have not heard that earlier?

A lemur flew by his head, chattering wildly. "Hi Momo," Zuko smiled, petting Momo's large ears. The lemur purred, and started to lick Zuko's hand.

"Eew Momo!"

"Well, good morning to you to, Mr. Fire Lord," a familiar voice called out, and he heard a gust of wind. He turned to see Aang lowering himself to the ground, and looked him over.

Aang had grown a few inches in the past year, and he still kept his head bald, 'wearing his arrow proudly', as he called it.

_Aang now seemed like a mature, 13 year old boy,_ Zuko thought.

He quickly changed his mind when the Avatar rode his wind scooter over and knocked him down. "Boy, you sure are sleepy today, Zuko," the boy observed. "That isn't really like you."

Zuko groaned. "Well, it's perfectly like _you _to land your giant bison in the middle of my ship and wake me up."

Appa groaned in response, and Aang nodded quickly. "Appa does have a name you know. Sheesh, can't you show respect to your favorite air-bison?"

At this Zuko chuckled, something he hadn't done in a while (since humor wasn't really possible with Mai) and patted Aang on the shoulder.

"Good to see you, kid. You haven't changed a bit."

"Sooo, can we spar now?"

Katara spotted the outline of Kyoshi Island in the distance, but she knew there was still almost another hour of sailing to reach it. She moved her hand forward, pushing the water just a little bit to make the boat hurry up.

Toph must've sensed her growing impatience, because she sighed and put her feet up on a chair. "Give it a rest, Sugar Queen, the driver's only doing his job."

"I know, I just wish he'd do it faster! I mean, I really wanna see Sokka and Suki!" _And Zuko, _Toph thought, but didn't voice it, for fear of death involving water.

"Yeah yeah, we'll see Snoozles and his bride-to-be soon enough. But we're spending 2 weeks there, so what does an hour really matter?"

"I guess your right, Toph."

"What? I made you _agree _with me? That's amazing!" Toph yelled, and made pieces of metal explode like tiny fireworks in the air.

Out of habit, Katara shushed her. "Toph, somebody might see us!"

"You mean Fire Nation? Guess what, Sweetness, Sparky is the Fire Lord! Those newbies are under his control."

"Ugh, you're right again." Katara looked across the water again to see that they were fairly close now. Maybe about 30 minutes away. _By boat of course, _she thought glumly.

"Toph, I can't stand this! I can water-bend us there in a minute!" She cried out.

"Fine, I've had enough of your whining and moping! Let's go!" She yelled, throwing the boat conductor 2 gold coins. "Thanks Speedy, we're good to go now."

Katara lept off the boat, and landed on a patch of ice. She helped Toph on, since she couldn't see anything. She bent little dents in the ice to fit their feet so they couldn't slip, and began moving the waves behind them **(*AN- This just looks like surfing, but on an ice board!)**.

They were going so fast that tears were running out of Katara's eyes from the wind. "Woo! This is FUN!" She screamed to Toph, who was digging her feet into the ice and hoping she wasn't about to bump into something. She hated being completely blind like this.

_Well, at least Katara is actually having fun. That's probably one of the first times in her life._

"Oops, I can't slow this thing down, Toph! I'm going to drop us in the water!" Katara screeched, as the island was only a few meters from them.

"No, don't-"

Toph felt the ice melt from under her, and she landed in the freezing water. She started gasping, knowing she couldn't swim, and she couldn't see anything.

"Toph, calm down, there's Earth under you," Katara called out, calm as usual. Toph relaxed her feet until she could feel the ground.

"Aaah, wonderful land!" She walked to the edge of the island and started shaking her dripping black hair.

"Sorry Toph! I'll bend the water out of your clothes!" She said, and the liquid escaped from her clothes and hair, leaving her dry. But still cold.

Katara did the same to herself, and started shivering. "Ugh, I'm so stupid! Well, we did have fun!" She said sheepishly. But after noting Toph's light blue lips, she sighed. "Okay, now where the hell does Sokka live?"

**^This chapter wasn't that great, I know, but it just filled in some details and I tried to show that Toph isn't such an angry little girl anymore and that she still has feelings for her parents. Plus, I wanted to show that Zuko hasn't found his mommy, and that he still misses her :( Chapter 4 should be up on Monday, for those of you who care :P**


	4. Chapter 4

**I kept my word, and chapter 4 is finally up! I would've done it a few hours ago, but I try typing 1 or 2 chapters ahead so I don't get writer's block and have nothing to offer. Anyways, thanks again for being loyal readers, and enjoy!**

The Reunion

Chapter 4

**(Sokka's POV)**

"SUKI!" I screamed, "KATARA AND TOPH ARE ON THE ISLAND!" I laughed loudly; because I'd watched both of them surfing on a block of ice to get here. And watched both of them crash land into the water.

"They are? Okay, Sokka, I'm taking a bath right now. You should go get them; they don't know where we live."

"Aw, can't they find us? I don't wanna go outside," I whined. I changed my mind when I heard Toph start to swear. "Never mind, I'll leave _right now."_ Nothing was worse than an angry Toph.

I pulled on a parka, since it was almost winter and very cold, and took a few blankets with me, since the water was probably freezing. I walked outside, and followed the trail past the newly fixed carving of Avatar Kyoshi to the lake. I saw Toph bending boulders into the sky, and Katara shivering by a tree.

"Snoozles? Is that you? I'd recognize those sloppy foot steps anywhere!" Toph called out, running over to me. Wow, she wasn't the small 12 year old girl anymore. She reminded me of a meaner, taller version of a 14 year old Katara.

Katara looked up from the ground.

"S-S-Sokka!" She stuttered, and ran as fast as she could to me. I hugged both of the girls, and then remembered that they were freezing.

"Here I brought blankets for you guys. I saw both of you fall into the water," I laughed. They grabbed the blankets and draped it over their shoulders. Toph punched me in the arm.

"Ow, you got stronger!" I complained.

"Well, _I'm _not a water-bender. Sugar Queen here lost control of the ice and then dropped us into the water!"

"Sorry again, Toph," Katara said. Toph blew her bangs out of her pale green eyes, and crossed her arms.

"So, Snoozles, where exactly do you and Princess live? I'm starving."

"Oh yeah, right this way, midgets." I smiled when I heard both the girls growl, but they were too cold to do anything violent. I walked back along the trail, knowing that Katara could see me and Toph could "sense" me.

"Here is my humble abode! I'll give you two some time to marvel over its simple elegance," I said.

"Wow, I'm surprised Sokka. If I didn't know Suki lived with you, I would've never thought that _this _was where you lived," my bratty sister remarked. It was true; Suki and I had renovated this old house, a gift she had gotten for leading her warriors, and we made it look like one of the best houses on the island.

"I really like the color you guys chose," Toph said.

"Oh my Spirits, I know Toph! Suki kept complaining that she wanted red, but then I said blue and…HEY!" I yelled, remembering that Toph was blind.

The girl laughed. "Well, Snoozles, you kinda brought that on yourself. You haven't changed that much. Well, at least mentally. You seem a tad taller, though," she observed.

It was true, I'd grown a few inches taller, and I had filled out more. I wasn't the scrawny Water Tribe boy anymore, thanks to the Kyoshi Warriors' training.

"What are you three doing? Get inside!" Suki opened the door and yelled. We ran inside, and Suki gave Katara and Toph big hugs. Her auburn hair had dried quickly, since it was so short, and had regained its original shape. I never knew how it _always _did that.

"You girls are so big now! Especially you, Toph, your as tall as me and Katara! And Katara, you don't look like that little Water tribe girl anymore!" Suki exclaimed. Katara began complimenting her as well, while I started sniffing the air.

"I smell meat!" I said, and Toph nodded too. "Honey, can we eat yet?" I asked.

"Sokka, according to Zuko and Aang's letters, they should be here soon. They left a few days ago; don't you wanna wait for them?"

I pretended to think it over. "Nope," I answered, "come on, Toph. You're the only one who understands my love for meat. Now let's eat!" She shrugged and followed me to the kitchen.

**(Katara's POV)**

I sighed when my stupid brother and Toph hurried into the kitchen. I heard plated clattering, and then then loud chewing noises, from Toph or Sokka, I really didn't know.

"I guess he hasn't really changed?" I asked Suki. She laughed.

"Not at all. Me and the girls trained him, so he grew up a little, but it's Sokka. He's an unstoppable force." We both laughed, loudly this time, until Sokka yelled that our laughing was disturbing his 'food time'.

Suki looked outside, probably checking what time it was. "It looks around Noon-ish. I bet Aang and Zuko will be here in the next hour." She looked at me when she said Aang's name, noting my reaction.

"Do you still love him?" She asked me.

I was hoping that I could get some girl- time with my soon-to-be sister. I already saw Suki as a sister, and the marriage would just make it official. Toph wasn't really the girly type, and didn't fully understand what I felt. But I could count on Suki.

"Well, I love him, but not in a romantic way. I mean, he's 2 years younger than me, and way less mature than I would like. I just see him as family, like a younger brother, you know?" Suki nodded, and I sighed in relief. "I really missed having girl talks with you, I tried with Toph last night, but she likes Aang now, and she doesn't seem to understand about these things. She even thought I used to like _Zuko,_" I said.

"Well, you did, right?" Suki seemed confused.

"What? How did you think of that?" I asked, trying to keep my voice low. You couldn't believe how sharp Toph's hearing was…

"Katara please, both of you used to blush like crazy whenever someone called you girlfriend and boyfriend! Don't be so shy about it, it was just a crush, and it's been about a year and a half."

"Fine, your right," I groaned, hating to surrender to others.

"Anyways, I think me and Sokka are starting to get really close," she whispered, clearly happy. I smiled; she wouldn't guess how close they were about to get.

I tried to keep any hint out of my voice. "Are you guys thinking about settling down soon? I mean, you guys aren't kids anymore," I winked. Suki blushed and lightly slapped my arm.

"Katara! And I've been thinking about it to myself, but I'm not sure Sokka is capable of settling down just yet. He seems like he wants to be everywhere at once."

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked curiously.

"No! I mean, no, of course not. I just think he misses running away from crazy, psycho Fire Nation Royalty and all that stuff, and I want him to get used to boring life again. Then we can settle down." She seemed to have their whole future planned out. Hell, she'd probably propose to my brother if the meat-head didn't do it soon.

Thankfully, before Suki could start asking about anything else Aang or Zuko related, Toph and said Meat-Head walked back in, patting their full stomachs.

"Well, I'm stuffed!" Sokka groaned, letting a burp escape his mouth. I hit the back of his head, and he winced.

"So's your brain, Snoozles, but you don't hear us complaining," Toph commented, sitting down on the large mat beside Suki and I.

"Nice one, Toph, you'll need to teach me more of those insults. You should hear how he tries to insult me! 'Haha, you have red hair!'" Suki mocked, making her voice as deep as Sokka's.

I high-fived her. "I know, right? And once he tried making me water-bend _meat _to him!"

Sokka huffed, turning over onto his back to glare at all three of us with one eye. "Why do you guys always choose to pick on me?"

"Well, Sokka, it's just too easy to make fun of you!" All of us gasped, because the voice hadn't come from inside the house. We turned to see Aang smiling through the window in the door, which looked pretty creepy.

Suki rushed over to the door and opened it, letting Aang come inside. Wow, none of us had noticed how dark it had become. We all got up to hug our friend, I noticed he hugged me about a second longer than everybody else, and sat back down.

"Good to have you back, Twinkletoes," Toph said, and only Suki and I knew that she meant something different.

"Aang, you didn't bring anything? Where's Appa, and how did you get here?" Sokka asked.

"Oh, Appa, Momo, and I hitched a ride with Zuko. He was nice enough to pack all our stuff and he said he'd ride Appa over in when he was done. Soo he should be here in a minute or something," he said as he shoveled some noodles down his mouth (he couldn't eat meat).

"Oh my Spirits! Momo came!" Sokka cheered happily. Suki glanced back at her kitchen.

"Uh, does Appa need to eat anything? I don't how much food I have…"

"Relax, Suki, we found a nice patch of cabbages and Appa dug right in. No worries there." Geez, he still talked so fast that it left me dizzy.

"Ew, Appa stop licking me! I swear to Agni those cabbages made you hyper! I'll kill Aang for letting you eat them…" A deep voice said from outside.

"And, enter Sparky, the cool one," Toph said nonchalantly.

"Maybe we should help him?" I asked.

"Nah, he's a tough cookie, he'll survive," Toph answered.

The door opened, and Zuko came in carrying five bags. Momo flew in over his head, and Appa had turned onto his back, fast asleep.

"Sheesh Zuko, you didn't have to pack your whole wardrobe!" Zuko gently put the bags down and shook his hair from his eyes.

"Are you kidding? This is all of Aang's stuff," he answered. Zuko didn't look so different; his voice was a tad deeper, but his scar still dominated almost half his face. I'd actually grown to like that scar, it reminded me how he had stood up against a higher power for those less fortunate soldiers. He looked taller too, about a foot taller than me now! Why was I so short again?

Aang shrugged. "I wanted Appa to have enough food. And only 1 of those bags are mine. You can just leave the rest outside, Zuzu."

Suki frowned. "He's not your pack-mule, Aang. Why don't you and Sokka take them outside, and Zuko can actually eat his food?" Sokka looked like he was going to protest, but a glare from Suki got him up quickly.

"Thanks Suki. It's great to see you guys again." He held out a hand for Sokka to shake as he came by. Sokka stared at it like it was a foreign object.

"Dude, we don't do handshakes here. Give me a hug, man!" Sokka said, throwing his arms around Zuko.

After a few seconds, Zuko started to pull away. "Uh, yeah, okay Sokka, I missed you too, but…can you get off me now?"

"Oh, right."

Suki gave Zuko a hug too, and I got up. "Welcome back, Fire Lord," I said as I hugged him, and then I pulled away after I sensed Suki looking at me.

"Nice to see you too, Katara," he smiled.

"Toph, aren't you going to come say hi to Zuko?" I asked.

"Hey Sparky," she said, not getting up.

"Hey, Shrimp," he answered. At this the blind girl did get up.

"_What _did you just call me?"

"Well, since we're back to nicknames, I figured you needed one. I think 'Shrimp' fit the bill nicely," he chuckled.

"THAT'S IT, SPARKY; I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ROYAL BUTT!"

Zuko started walking over to the kitchen, his lips fighting a smile. "Sure thing, SHRIMP. Can I eat first, though?" By now I couldn't really hold back my laughter, and I let a small giggle escape my lips.

"That's it, Sugar Queen; I'll fight both of you!" Toph answered.

"Ooh, we can have a sparring tournament with everybody!" Suki said excitedly. "I have some new moves I wanna show you guys, it gets boring to beat Sokka all the time. I need new competition."

"HEY!" Sokka said, coming back through the door with Aang.

We all sat down on the mat, and Zuko came back with a plate of food. Toph smiled, and lifted some ground up to trip him, which he swiftly jumped over.

"I'm tired of this! Okay, we'll do your little tournament, Princess, but only if I get to spar Mr. Fire Lord first," she groaned.

"Okay Toph, I can live with that. Then, I wanna fight Katara, and Sokka can fight Aang. Then the winners all verse each other."

Aang shook his head. "No, I'm not really in the mood for violence. I'll watch though!"

"Yeah, I don't want to fight you creepy benders. Oh, I'll be the REFEREE!" Sokka said.

"Okay then. After dinner, it's Zuko versus Toph," I said. This was going to be ugly.

Suki and I got our plates and started to eat. Everything was silent as we thought about the tournament, until we heard a yell from outside.

"NOOO! MY CABBAGES!"

**HAHA, i just had to include that cabbage guy ;) review! i wanna know if you like it (Y) or absolutely loathed it (N). Don't be an internet troll and just say "boo, it sucked!", if you didn't like it tell me what you want to see! Next chappie will probably be up Wednesday-ish.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! I managed to get this chap up, considering that I have like 2 tests this week :/ Soo, enjoy! **

**P.s. OMG DIDN't YOU GUYS LOOOVE THE SEASON 2 PREMIERE OF GLEE? :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender, or it's awesome characters.**

The Reunion

Chapter 5

**(Zuko's POV)**

The silence was getting a bit awkward, until we heard a familiar yell from outside.

"NOO! MY CABBAGES!" Our heads shot up, and we all burst out laughing.

"No…way…the cabbage guy…from Omashu!" Sokka chortled, tears in his eyes. After a couple more seconds, the laughter died down, and I finished up my food.

"Suki the food tastes really great," I said. Compliments were still new to me, since I used to be an ass-hole, and now I was the Fire Lord. Even though I had been friends with the gAang for a little over a year now, they all stared at me weirdly.

"Thanks, Zuko!" Clearly, she'd never really been complimented on anything but her fighting. Sokka saw his girlfriend's mood change, and cleared his throat.

"Uh, I LOVED your food, sweetie. Especially the meat part," he smiled.

"Nice try, Sokka, but you're just sucking up now."

"Aw man!"

Toph sighed from the corner where she was stretching her feet. "Sparky's done his food, will you hurry up Twinkletoes?"

"Hey! I'm just trying to savor my noodles; I haven't eaten for hours!" Aang whined.

"Okay, shut up and eat then."

I was getting tired of their childish bickering, so I looked for someone to talk to. Katara was closest, so I tried talking to her.

"So, the South Pole…that sounds fun?" I tried to make it sound sarcastic. From the way her eyes rolled, I guess I did well on that.

"Loads of fun. Never a dull moment." She paused. "No, it was actually really boring, and Sokka wasn't even there, so I was alone with no one to annoy. How about life at the palace?"

"It's hectic," I decided after a moment, "I'd probably rather live in the South Pole; there're always people complaining about how bad my father was, or asking if I'm going to start a new war, and no matter what, there's _always_ a big stack of forms for me to sign at my desk."

She scoffed. "At least you have something to do. All I do is knit sweaters with Gran Gran or babysit some Water Tribe kid. It'd be fun if I could find a little Water-bender; I could train them."

"Well, you would like that…" I started saying, and she cut me off.

"Are you saying that because I'm bossy?" She asked. Whoa, she wanted a fight already?

"What? No, I was saying because you like taking care of people and are patient, you'd like it."

"Okay, that's good, then," she smiled. _Girls…_

I felt a pebble hit me in the head, and I turned to glare at Toph. "Well, I guess we're fighting now," I said dryly, getting up.

"This is going to be some ugly fight," Katara agreed as she was coming up behind Toph and I. Everybody else came outside, and we watched as Toph lifted some Earth up to form a fighting ring. She propelled herself up, and motioned for me to get up.

I took my parka off and leapt onto the ring, serious now.

**(Katara's POV)**

It was a good thing Zuko kept his shirt on, because then Suki would've probably caught me drooling. I didn't _like _him, but that was different than liking to look at his body, right?

"Oh, wait!" Sokka yelled, walking back into the house. He came out holding a towel, and began waving it over his head. "Round 1: Toph the Tough versus Zuko the…"

"Just start, Sokka," Toph yelled.

"Okay, sheesh! Start."

Firebenders usually played the first move, so Toph waited while Zuko analyzed her position. He made a line of flame on the ground and made it rush at Toph. I noticed that he tapped the ground with his foot before doing this, probably so that she could sense faster that he was attacking. She drew up a rock wall around her, and the flames died out.

"Is that the best you've got, Fire Lord?" She demanded. She bended a crack in the ring, which Zuko in turn jumped over, sending fire beams towards her. She lifted a large boulder and it deflected the attack.

"Toph, I thought you couldn't see fire?" Zuko called out.

"Well, I feel your muscles and breathing flow quicker when you attack. And I hear the flames. Just try to keep it on the ground, though, Sparky."

"Can do, shrimp."

Toph huffed in annoyance, and three boulders flew to Zuko's head and legs. He jumped up and bent horizontally so that the boulders went under and below him. He landed on the ground, and a ring of fire formed on the ground around Toph, moving in a spiral motion towards her. She followed the pattern with rock, until the fire was fully trapped. She made rocks from into swords and started swinging them, in the air, at Zuko.

He managed to dodge the swords, and they dropped down uselessly when Toph grew frustrated.

"Ah, just give up, Zuko, I'll beat you this time!" The girl laughed.

"Toph, no one can beat me. Except for Aang, because he IS the avatar," Zuko replied. Right now, it didn't seem as if he was trying to attack Toph; he just stood there, hands at his side, dodging all the rocks she threw at him.

Both of them seemed tired, mostly Toph, and that's when she dropped on her butt and yelled, "I GIVE UP!"

Zuko sighed in relief, and walked over to the small pond beside the fighting ring. He splashed some of the water on his face, and then came back to join the rest of us.

"You've really improved Toph, I'm impressed."

She got up and glared at him, before answering. "As much as I hate to admit it, so have you, Fire Lord Sparky." She jumped off and went to sit on the floor next to Aang and Momo.

"Okay everybody, put your hands together for Suki versus Katara!" Sokka cheered. Suki and I got up on the ring, and bowed to each other, smirks on our faces.

Then the fight begun.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N- well, here it is! and sorry about the wait, I'll try to publish a chapter every 1-3 days, depending on how busy or imaginitive I am that day :P **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender, or it's awesome characters.**

The Reunion  
Chapter 6

**(Katara's POV)**

Suki took her fans out, and I saw that they were now lined with some steel. I gulped quietly.

"I see you've upgraded your fans?" She laughed loudly.

"It was a gift from my team when I, you know, help saved the world?"

"Ah, I see." I brought some water out of the pond and bent them into sharp swords. I had learnt some skills from Sokka on how to fight with blades.

"Ooh, bring it, Katara!" Suki lunged at me, and I quickly dodged her. She came back at me and started swinging her fans at me, and I blocked them with my swords. After a few swings, though, the steel broke through my ice and my weapons were gone. As Suki started bringing the fan down again, I lifted some water up and froze a block of ice around her hand and fan.

"Ugh!" She groaned, and moved to hit me with the other sword. Yet again, I froze some more water around that hand. I heard some muffled laughter, probably Aang and Sokka.

Now Suki couldn't attack, for the time being, but she could still dodge. And Suki was very swift and quick. I threw some star-shaped ice pellets at her, which she jumped over neatly avoided.

"Come on, Katara, I'm almost powerless. Try your best!" She said.

"Well, I don't want to kill you, Suki, but I'll try harder," I laughed. I got some more water from the pond and transformed into a type of snowman, ice covering me. I froze some ice on the surface of the fighting ring, and started sliding quickly at Suki. She tried running away, but the ice was so slippery that she fell. Clearly she had never seen ice or snow. Wait till she came to the South Pole…

I ran toward her fallen body and jumped up, removing the ice off of me and pinning her to the ground. I bent some water around her ankles to form some manacles, and she was trapped on the floor.

She chuckled. "Well, I underestimated you. You win. Now…can you get me out of this?" I melted the ice, and she stood up, rubbing her wrists and putting her precious fans away.

"Well, that was fun. Haven't fought anybody in a while," I said, missing the days of training by Master Pakku's side. Well, Grandpa Pakku actually, since he and Gran Gran were married. He wouldn't let anybody call him Gramp Gramp, the stupid name Sokka came up with, because he didn't want to take the place of our real grandfather.

"Then it's a good thing that you'll be fighting me next," I heard someone say. I looked up and saw Zuko smiling evilly at me.

"Yeah Zuko, that means I'll beat another person tonight," I challenged. He frowned.

"No way, I'm going to win. I'll let you take a break, then you'll see."

"Who said I need a break, I can fight you right now!" I climbed back up the ring, and Zuko came up too. I was starting to think _he _was the one who wanted the break. Oh well.

"Should I go easy, medium, or hard?" I asked mockingly.

"Extreme," he answered, and began lighting up some flames in his hands. "Ready?"

"As always."

He shot a blast at me, and I snuffed it out with some mist. I bent some water up, and sharpened them into mini daggers, flinging them at Zuko. He made a wall of fire, and they all melted.

"Come on, Katara, I'm not even breaking a sweat." I frowned, and brought a wave of water crashing down on him. A small wave, but still a wave.

He bent a dome of fire, and no water managed to actually touch him. He sent two kicks of fire at me, and I waved my hand, bringing forth more water to stop it. He shot some balls of fire out of his hands at me, and I dodged them all. I brought water from either side of him and started making them shoot out at a fast speed. Zuko dodged most of them, but one managed to hit him making him fall over. I threw some water at him, and froze him in a block of ice.

I was stupid for forgetting he could fire bend. He just heated up his skin, and the water begun to melt off of him. He made a bird-shaped fire ball, and it dove towards me. I counterattacked, and the bird turned to steam.

I ran forward, and started sliding on ice that I formed on the ground. I shot snowballs at Zuko, and in turn he melted them, maybe getting hit once or twice. He melted the ice off the ground, and I slid on Earth and fell over. I quickly rolled out of the way of his fire, and got up. Now I was getting tired.

I brought up more water and made octopus arms, whipping them at Zuko, and he jumped side to side to avoid getting hit. He came closer, and started throwing fire daggers at me. With a wave of my octopus-arm, it died. He threw some more fire, near my legs, and I had to jump up. I forgot to concentrate on my arms, and the water fell to the floor.

"No!" I was about to fall into the fire, and Zuko quickly moved the flames away. I landed back on normal Earth.

"Sorry Katara!" He paused and looked to see if I was alright.

"I'm fine, keep fighting," I answered. He shrugged, and we continued in the same pattern: attacking, and then the other would turn that attack to steam. Fire and Water were opposites, and every block would ruin both attacks.

Toph moaned, and Aang yawned loudly. "Can you two just stop. This fight is never gonna finish!" We ignored that, and kept going on. Maybe Toph was right, and we had to start using physical force.

"Zuko, let's just fight without the elements now," I suggested.

"What? I'm not going to try to hit you, Katara, you're a girl." I growled, and punched his arm. His eyes widened, and he started to laugh. "Okay, I get it, you're strong, but it's still wrong to try to hit a girl."

I was getting annoyed, and then I remembered Ty Lee trying to train me last time I was in Kyoshi Island. She was teaching me about pressure points, but I was getting bored, so she stopped. _Now, where were the pressure points again? _I thought to myself, angry for not listening. I remembered some minor ones in the upper body, so I poked Zuko's shoulders, sides, and stomach quickly **(****A/N sorry I made those up! I don't know any pressure points)**. He flopped onto the floor, and stared at me in wonder.

"Ty Lee taught me that," I said sheepishly, "I win, by the way."

"Yes you did. Now, how long am I going to be on the floor?" He asked.

"Oh, just a few more seconds." He started moving some of his fingers, and then it seemed his body could move again. He got up, and we walked off the ring.

"Katara wins the tournament!" Sokka cheered. "Wow, I thought Zuko would win, you know, him being the mighty Fire Lord and everything."

"Then he gets beaten by a Water Tribe Girl," Toph chuckled. "Oh, Sparky Sparky Sparky."

Zuko glared at her, not that she noticed. I glared at Sokka. "Wow, thanks for the moral support, big brother."

"I'm just saying…"

Aang yawned widely. "Well, I'm getting kinda tired. Can we do something fun? Oh! I can ride the Onagi again!"

"The Onagi doesn't come out at night, Aang, maybe tomorrow," Suki replied. "Why don't we go to sleep?"

* * *

**(Zuko's POV)**

Everybody nodded their heads at Suki's suggestion, and we walked back into the house. The truth was, I let Katara win. I mean, I went a lot easier on her than my training warriors. But I didn't want her to get burnt; fire was beautiful, but destructive, and I still didn't fully trust myself using it.

"Okay everybody, we have some sleeping bags and blankets, but all of you have to share the living room…" Suki said.

"Uh, I'll just sleep on Appa, he's soft enough," Aang answered. Of course; the monk was still afraid of girls.

"Whatever," Sokka answered, getting some food to eat.

I brought a sleeping bag over to one side of the room, and Katara and Toph set theirs up on the other side. I didn't feel like sleeping yet, even though I was tired. I walked over to where Sokka was sitting on the ground and sat down beside him.

"Hey Zuko," he said in between bites.

"Hi Sokka, it's been a while," I replied. He nodded, and quickly finished his bowl of food, setting it aside. "So, how has it been here?"

"It's great, I get to stay with Suki, and I get to train with the warriors. AND pretty soon I'll start recruiting people to make a _men's_ warrior team!"

"Oh, I see…"

"Yeah, it's been fun. And being with Suki makes it better. Now, tell me about the _amazing _palace," he added some more sarcasm on that last part.

"Well, it's great, but there's too much to do. You know how messed up the Fire Nation is…" Sokka nodded here, "…and lots of people think I'll start another war or turn out to be just like Ozai." I still didn't refer to him as _father_; sometimes I barely wanted to be related to him. But that was the truth, as much as I hated to admit it.

"Don't worry, Sparky, you're not as crazy as Ozai or your creepy sister." I looked over at the blind girl, and noticed that both she and Katara were listening to us.

"Thanks Toph," I answered. She seemed relieved that I didn't call her by my new nickname.

"Have you seen any of them recently? Ozai or your sister, I mean." This question came from Katara.

"I've tried visiting my father in prison, but he doesn't talk, unless it's to insult me." _Not to mention I still haven't_ _found my mother._ "And I went to the Mental Institution to see Azula, but she thinks that she is the Fire Lord and that I'm her servant. But I haven't seen them recently."

"Oh," the girl replied, her blue eyes looking down.

"How's Sunshine been?" Toph asked.

"Uh, who's Sunshine?"

"Ya know your gloomy, knife-throwing girlfriend."

"Oh. Mai and I broke up a little while ago," I said, and it was weird how I didn't even feel sad mentioning her name. I felt guilty, of course, but that was it.

Sokka sighed. "That's rough, man. And she was really cool, too. She was supposed to teach me how to throw knives!"

"Sokka, shut up," Katara gave him a look to silence him.

"So, Toph, have _you_ found a guy to get angry at?" I asked her. It was a joke, obviously. But didn't she like the Avatar?

She punched me in the arm, and I held back a wince. She had gotten stronger.

"No way, love isn't really my thing, if you haven't noticed, Zuzu." How she got the nickname 'Zuzu' I still didn't know, but it always made me think of Azula. It seemed that way for Katara, too, because I could swear I saw her shiver just the slightest.

From outside, I heard the sound of Aang's snores harmonized with Appa's, and I heard Suki's slow breathing from the bedroom.

"Sokka, do you know when you'll ask Suki?" I whispered, just in case she was a light sleeper. "It's okay, she's asleep."

He blushed a little bit, and started fidgeting with his tunic. "Well, I haven't really picked a specific time, but I'll know it when it comes…"

"Can I see the ring?" Katara asked. Her brother glared at her, but reached into his pant pocket to get it out. It was very beautiful, a simple band with small diamonds embedded in it. The band was a mix of green and blue, which seemed to symbolize both Sokka and Suki's national colors.

"Wow, Sokka. I can't believe _you _picked this out!" Katara said in a hushed whisper.

"Gran Gran helped a little bit, but thanks." We heard some groaning coming from the bedroom, and Suki getting out of bed. Sokka quickly stuffed the ring back in his pocket as the door opened, revealing his tired girlfriend.

"Can you guys go to sleep? I keep hearing noises, and you're probably all tired from travelling here."

"Sorry! Good night," Katara said, and started climbing into her sleeping bag. Toph followed suit, and Sokka and I got up and wen our separate ways; him to his bed, and me to the wolf-pelt sleeping pag. It was actually pretty comfortable.

"Good night, guys," Sokka called out.

"'Night Snoozles. And Sweetness. AND Sparky."

"Good night, Sokka, Toph, Zuko." Katara groaned.

"Good night everybody," I said, and fell asleep just like that.

**REVIEW PLEASE, and tell me what you think should happen next: Aang should ride the Onagi...(and something else). **


	7. Chapter 7

The Reunion  
Chapter 7

"Let me out, peasant! I'm the Fire Lord, and you will be banished because of your poor behavior! Do you understand?" Azula shrieked at the maid feeding her. She couldn't eat herself because they had chained her hands and legs apart, and they made her room cold so that she couldn't fire bend.

"Whatever you say, Fire Lord," the woman mumbled sarcastically. She took back the plate of food, not bothering to feed the ex-princess anymore.

When the door slammed shut, Azula smiled. _They think I've gone crazy; this is working out better than I'd hoped. _She laughed loudly, more of a cackle really, because she was so proud of her plan. It was completely flawless!

A hooded man passed by her cell and paused. He lifted his head up just a small fraction so that Azula could see him wink. Then he left, just as quickly as he'd come.

The prisoner bent her head down to look at the dashes on the ground. There were so many, one for every miserable day she'd been locked up in the Mental Institution.

"Soon I'll be free of this hell," she whispered to herself.

* * *

**(Katara's POV)**

"Hey, Katara, wake up. Kata-raaa…Katara!" A voice called. I moaned and lifted my head up, opening my eyes. Sokka was kneeling down beside me, and he smiled.

"Morning, sleepy. Wanna go, uh, wash your hair? You look like you mutated or something."

"What do you want, Sokka?" I rubbed my eyes, and tried to glare at him.

"Sheesh, you never used to sleep in. I just thought I'd wake you up. Like, you could relax, or make food…" he trailed off. I got up and looked around the room. Toph was still sleeping, Aang was sleeping outside on Appa, but Zuko's sleeping bag was neatly folded against the wall.

"Where'd Zuko go?"

"I think he went walking or training or something. It seemed boring, so I didn't go." I nodded my head, and went to the wash room to change my clothes. Then, I went outside to where the pond was. I looked into the water, and gasped at myself. My hair was all over the place! How did Suki and Toph keep their hair so perfect? I bended some water through my hair, 'scrubbing' it, and then releasing the water onto the Earth. I looked back at my reflection and sighed in relief. My hair was back to its normal state, wavy and not frizzy. Pleased with myself, I went back into the house to see Sokka staring at me.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"Um, Suki's not here, she's out with her warrior friends, so can you make breakfast? I can help if you want."

I laughed. "Okay, why didn't you say so? And no, I think I'd be better off without _your _help." He shrugged and set mats on the floor to sit on. He brought out some plates and utensils and stacked them on the kitchen table for me.

"Wow, I guess Suki taught you, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Well, how are things with you and Aang?" He turned serious now, and looked at me warily.

"Do you want eggs?" I asked, taking 5 out.

"Katara, don't change the subject."

I sighed. "Fine, I don't feel _that way _about him at all. He's just a kid, and I need someone older. Plus, I'm 16 now, and I'm probably going to get married soon. Dad's already trying to set me up with Water Tribe guys!"

"What? He didn't even tell me!"

"Relax, I didn't meet them or anything. He was just joking, I think… but anyways." I waved it off, and Sokka started telling me about his past year and all the stuff he did. Again, my year felt much more boring, just walking in the snow and ice of the South Pole. Although it was more fun after learning Water Bending, and sometimes I fought with Grandpa Pakku or was sent to heal someone's cut.

"…and that's why I always look twice before attacking an enemy," Sokka concluded. I nodded, pretending that I heard everything he said. I took out some flint stones and brushed them over the wood on the stove to create a fire for the eggs. Some small sparks flew out, but nothing else.

"Stupid stones," I complained, smacking them harder.

"Maybe I should help with that?" I didn't notice Zuko walk in the house; he was always so quiet. He shot a flame at the wood, and it flamed up.

"Thanks," I said, watching the fire bend into different shapes. How could something so beautiful and full of life be so destructive? I cracked an egg on the pot, cooked it, and placed it onto the plate.

"It's alright. Should I wake them up?" He gestured to the still sleeping Toph and Aang.

"Yeah, that would be best. Sokka, go and help. Toph is really-"

"Noisy? Loud? Especially when she wakes up?" Zuko filled in. Sokka nodded, and walked with Zuko outside to get Aang. They came in a minute later, Aang following behind them.

"Hi, Katara," he mumbled.

"Hey, Aang." I cracked my third fourth egg into the pan, and watched as they attempted to wake Toph up. I readied myself for the soon-to-be explosion.

Sokka motioned to Zuko to do the waking up, and he sighed.

"Toph?" No movement from her. "Toph, wake up," he said a bit more loudly. She turned the opposite direction of his voice.

"TOPH, FOOD'S READY!" Sokka yelled in her ear. She jumped up in surprise and yelled, getting in a defensive form.

"Sokka you moron! Did you have to scream in my ear? What the hell is wrong with you people?" She continued swearing, and then came to the table to take her plate of food.

Zuko looked like he was holding back laughter, and Aang and Sokka seemed shocked. Well, they hadn't shared camp with Toph for a while, so they probably forgot her little outbursts.

I cleared my throat. "Are you three just gonna stand there? Come get your eggs."

* * *

**(Zuko's POV)**

We all sat down on the mats and started eating the food. As always, Katara cooked it just right. I chewed slowly, while Toph stabbed at the food, mumbling about how we never let her sleep.

"Soo…" Aang began, "did you guys sleep good?"

"Well, I was having a pretty great dream, and then you guys woke me up."

Sokka nodded. "Yeah, my dream was pretty great, too. Suki and I got married, and you guys were my eternal slaves." Katara scoffed, and flicked Sokka's ear. "Hey!"

"Speaking of dreams, we need to go to the beach! I'm meeting up with my old friend, the Onagi," Aang smiled.

"Huh? What's the Onagi?" I asked.

"It's some big fish Aang tried to ride when we came to the island after we found him," Katara said, seeming bored of the idea.

"I did ride it! And I'll ride it again, even longer this time."

"Let's wait for Suki to get back," Sokka answered, finishing up his food. "Oh yeah, do you guys want to go to the Kyoshi Festival tomorrow? Since we're probably doing nothing?"

"Sure, and maybe since we're so famous, they'll give us money, or food, or something valuable," Toph said, seeming to perk up. We heard a growl from outside.

"Don't worry, its just Appa; he's hungry," Aang replied. "Can someone come help me feed him?" When no one answered, Toph rose.

"I got your back, Twinkle Toes." When they walked outside, Katara started chuckling to herself.

"What's so funny?" I asked. She looked up, and hesitated for a second.

"Ok, never say I told you guys, but Toph has a thing for Aang. So, I'm guessing something's gonna spark up in a few days," she said. She sounded desperate for the two to get together. _She probably just wants the kid to get over her._

"Toph has _feelings_?" Sokka muttered, and laughed at his own joke. We heard the door open, and inside walked Suki. I breathed out in relief, thinking Toph had overheard us.

"Hey babe," Sokka said, giving her a peck on the cheek.

"Good morning, guys. So, what were you talking about?"

I smirked. "Toph and Aang."

"Oh, I see," she laughed, and sat down next to us.

"They need a nick name, something cool, like…ooh, how about Taang?" Sokka said.

"At least it's better than 'Sparky Sparky Boom Man'" Katara replied. We burst out laughing, and Toph came into the room, a slight blush on her face. Aang walked up behind her, his face even redder, and we all pretended not to notice.

"Oh, hi Suki," Aang said awkwardly, and she smiled.

"Hi, Aang. Hi, Toph."

"Uh…" Sokka had to begin awkwardly, scratching his head, "you guys ready to go to the beach now?"

**Hope that was good. And I'm so, so, so, SOO sorry for how long it took me (a little over a week!) but school's been pretty hectic and I havent really had much time. it was also challenging to write in Azula's small part at the beginning...btw please tell me how u thought of that? ;) review please, and ill try not to make u guys wait any longer than a week for an update**


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